Over at the door Catrin saw Judith arrive, with Jack and his husband Dominic in tow. ‘Where’s Gareth?’ she shouted, bounding over with Sol and hugging them all in turn.

‘Man flu,’ said Jack, laughing.

‘Aw no, to be fair, he’s really rough,’ said Judith, who didn’t seem very happy. ‘Felt a bit bad leaving him, to be honest.’

‘Oh bless him,’ said Catrin.

‘Cat, we called in to see Patricia today …’

Catrin sensed where this was going, and prayed that she was wrong. To her relief, she caught a subtle glare from Jack in his mother’s direction, and he rapidly changed the subject.

‘Anyway, Dad really did want to come, Aunty Cat,’ he said, and she watched Judith take the hint.

‘Yeah, he thought he’d feel well enough this morning.’

‘Well, it takes longer to get better these days,’ said Catrin. ‘We’re none of us getting any younger!’

‘Hark at Granny!’ Sol laughed, kissing his wife’s hair.

‘Yes, the way you talk you’d think you were geriatric,’ said Jack.

‘Well, we are!’

‘Speak for yourself – I just had another round of fillers done.’

They all turned. It was Lana. Standing with a magnum of champagne and a huge bouquet of flowers almost too big to hold.

‘Plus two nights ago I shagged a guy twenty years my junior. Nothing geriatric about me, mate!’

Judith rolled her eyes and Jack grinned, clearly delighted by the new arrival. ‘It’s Aunty Lana, isn’t it?’

‘Less of the “Aunty”, young man!’ replied Lana with mock disapproval.

‘We met once, in Cyprus,’ said Jack. ‘At my grandfather’s funeral …’ The atmosphere took a dip. ‘I’m Jack – Judith and Gareth’s son.’

Of course! They’d only ever met once. At the few occasions attended by both Lana and Judith over the years, Jack had never been with them, and Catrin was suddenly hijacked by emotion when she realized this.

‘Ah, the famous Jack Metcalf,’ said Lana, clearly moved and trying desperately to cover up the embarrassing reminder of George’s funeral all those years ago. She flicked her eyes quickly in Judith’s direction.

‘Alrigh’, Judith?’ she said with a curt smile. ‘Fellow bridesmaid!’

‘Hello, Lana,’ Judith replied, equally as curt, arch politeness searing the air.

Thankfully Solomon came to the rescue, introducing Dominic. ‘And this is Jack’s husband.’

‘Dominic,’ he said, beaming.

Lana eyed him up and down with exaggerated lasciviousness. ‘What a tremendous bloody loss to us straight ladies!’ And they all laughed. Apart from Judith, who Catrin noticed rolling her eyes again.

‘Let me take those off you,’ said Dominic, relieving Lana of the flowers.

‘And I’ll find a home for this bad boy,’ said Jack, grabbing the magnum. ‘Next to ours! Great minds, eh?’

They headed off, Jack shouting behind him, ‘We’ll be back!’

There was an awkward pause, thankfully interrupted by the arrival of more guests.

‘Sol, it’s your Uncle Joe,’ Catrin said, grabbing her husband’s hand, deciding there and then to let Lana and Judith break their own ice. ‘See you in a bit, girls, we’ll leave you two to catch up.’ And she scuttled off, leaving behind a ticking time bomb.